JP5369161B2 - Image forming system, image forming method, and printer driver - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an image forming system, an image forming method, and a printer driver. More specifically, the present invention relates to an image forming system, an image forming method, and an image forming system that limit a specific image forming function when a replacement part is a non-genuine product. The printer driver.

  Replacement parts such as photosensitive drums, transfer belts, and toner cartridges used in image forming apparatuses such as multifunction peripherals supply genuine supplies to ensure the print quality. There are an increasing number of cases where third parties other than sales manufacturers sell supplies as compatible parts. Although the compatible parts are supplied at a low price, the printing quality is not guaranteed at all, and the equipment is not maintained by the seller of the compatible parts. In addition, these multifunction devices are not designed to support non-genuine supplies, so when non-genuine products are used, printing may be blurred due to environmental conditions such as high temperature / high humidity and low temperature / low humidity. , Fogging and the like have occurred remarkably, and deterioration of print quality has been a problem.

  On the other hand, for example, Patent Document 1 describes an image forming apparatus that can identify whether or not a replacement part is a genuine product. The image forming apparatus reads the toner manufacturer company name information from the memory tag built in the toner cartridge, compares the read company name information with the company name information stored in advance, and if they match, the image forming apparatus is attached. It is determined that the toner cartridge is a genuine product, company name information is displayed on the display unit, and an image density correction operation is executed. On the other hand, if they do not match, it is determined that the installed toner cartridge is a non-genuine product, the company name information is not displayed on the display unit, and the image density correction operation is not displayed.

  Patent Document 2 describes an image forming apparatus that can select a first mode that presumes the use of genuine consumables and a second mode that permits the use of non-genuine consumables. The image forming apparatus includes: a consumables determination unit that determines whether a mounted consumable is genuine or non-genuine; a print job reception unit that receives a print instruction; and a print job reception when the first mode is selected. If the consumables used to reproduce the color instructed to print by means include consumables determined to be non-genuine by the consumables determination means, without using the consumables determined to be non-genuine, An image is formed using only consumables determined to be genuine.

JP 2010-266588 A JP 2009-300694 A

  Usually, since the above-mentioned supplies are replaced or replenished by an administrator, the general user is printing as if good printing is performed. In such a case, when printing an important document such as a confidential document, additional information indicating the importance of the printed material by watermark or a copy that prohibits copying of the printed material by a known technique such as a background pattern as specific image information related to security In some cases, prohibition information or information indicating a printing device or user of a printed material is embedded, and tracking information for tracking the origin of the printed material is intentionally added to the printed material. However, when the above-mentioned supply by a third party whose print quality is not guaranteed is used, there are cases where these watermarks, copy prohibition information, or tracking information cannot be printed satisfactorily.

  Specifically, the watermark is printed by combining the watermark characters of the printed document to be printed, but the watermark characters become thinner due to non-genuine supplies, and the watermark does not appear when copied. In other cases, the watermark may become too dark and the printed document may not be read. In addition, copy prohibition information and tracking information are printed by combining special symbols and background patterns with printed documents, and these information is hidden on the recording paper in gray or yellow so that it is difficult for the user to recognize. Printed.

  In this way, printing of background patterns, watermarks, etc. is background printing to show the importance of the printed matter without impairing the visibility of the original document, so the number of dots per unit area is less than that of the main printed document. This is realized by fine dot printing. For this reason, when a non-genuine product is used, a desired printing result cannot be obtained because the toner particle size is not appropriate, and there is a possibility that the utility value as a printed matter is lost. The hidden information cannot be read, and the printed material can be copied. The tracking information cannot be read, and the security desired by the user cannot be maintained.

  On the other hand, in the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above, if the toner cartridge is detected to be a non-genuine product, good printing cannot be performed. When image quality is required, printing is performed using only genuine products without using non-genuine products, but the above problems are not taken into consideration. In addition, when a non-genuine product is used, there is a method of prohibiting all printing operations, but if it is uniformly prohibited, the user's convenience is greatly impaired.

  The present invention has been made in view of these circumstances. When it is detected that a non-genuine product other than a genuine product supplied by the apparatus manufacturer is used inside the image forming apparatus, the specific image information is stored. An image forming system, an image forming method, and an image forming method capable of preventing leakage of confidential matters by notifying the problem of security when a general user creates an important document by prohibiting addition to a recording sheet, and An object is to provide a printer driver.

  In order to solve the above problems, a first technical means of the present invention is an image forming apparatus in which an information processing apparatus in which a printer driver is installed and an image forming apparatus controlled by the printer driver are connected via a network. The image forming apparatus includes an image forming unit that forms an image, a non-genuine product determination unit that determines whether a replacement part of the image forming unit is a non-genuine product, and the non-genuine product determination unit. A communication unit that transmits a determination result to the information processing apparatus, and the printer driver of the information processing apparatus displays a print condition input screen of the printer driver when the determination result from the image forming apparatus is a non-genuine product Among the image forming conditions that can be input, the addition of specific image information to a recording sheet is prohibited.

  According to a second technical means, in the first technical means, the specific image information is any one of a watermark, copy prohibition information, and printed matter tracking information.

  According to a third technical means, in the first or second technical means, the printer driver of the information processing apparatus, in the print condition input screen, when the determination result from the image forming apparatus is a non-genuine product, The setting item regarding addition of specific image information to a recording sheet is not displayed.

  According to a fourth technical means, in the first or second technical means, when the determination result from the image forming apparatus is a non-genuine product, the printer driver of the information processing apparatus, on the print condition input screen, Setting items relating to the addition of specific image information to a recording sheet are displayed in gray out.

  According to a fifth technical means, in any one of the first to fourth technical means, if the non-genuine product determination unit cannot obtain predetermined information from the replacement part of the image forming unit, the replacement part is non-genuine. It is characterized by determining that it is a part.

  A sixth technical means is a printer driver installed in the information processing apparatus in the image forming system which is any one of the first to fifth technical means.

  A seventh technical means is an image forming method in an image forming system in which an information processing apparatus in which a printer driver is installed and an image forming apparatus controlled by the printer driver are connected via a network. The forming apparatus includes: an image forming unit that forms an image; a non-genuine product determining step that determines whether or not a replacement part of the image forming unit is a non-genuine product; The printer driver of the information processing apparatus, when the determination result from the image forming apparatus is a non-genuine product, an image forming condition that can be input from the print condition input screen of the printer driver. Of these, an input restriction step for prohibiting the addition of specific image information to a recording sheet is provided.

  According to the present invention, when it is determined that a non-genuine product other than a genuine product supplied by the manufacturer is used in the image forming apparatus, among the image forming conditions that can be input, to the recording paper of the specific image information Since it is prohibited to add watermarks, copy watermark information, or tracking information that is intentionally added by the user's recognition that it is an important document, it is not possible to add non-genuine products. Even a user who has not done so can recognize that the user's desired printing cannot be performed, and can prevent leakage of important documents.

1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which an image forming apparatus in an image forming system according to the present invention is configured as a multifunction peripheral. 1 is a block diagram illustrating a configuration example of main parts of an image forming apparatus and an information processing apparatus in an image forming system according to the present invention. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a toner cartridge that is a replacement part. FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the operation of the image forming apparatus in the image forming system of the present invention. It is a flowchart for demonstrating an example of operation | movement of the information processing apparatus in the image forming system of this invention. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printing condition input screen by a printer driver when a genuine product is used. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating an example of a printing condition input screen by a printer driver when a non-genuine product is used. FIG. 10 is a diagram illustrating another example of a printing condition input screen by a printer driver when a non-genuine product is used.

  DESCRIPTION OF EXEMPLARY EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, preferred embodiments according to an image forming system, an image forming method, and a printer driver of the invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an embodiment in which an image forming apparatus according to the present invention is configured as a multifunction peripheral, and illustrates an example of an image forming apparatus configured as a multifunction peripheral having a scanner function.
The image forming apparatus 100 forms an image on recording paper by transmitting image data transmitted from the outside or read by a scanner (image reading means), and includes an apparatus main body 130 and an automatic document processing apparatus 120.

The apparatus main body 130 includes an exposure unit 1, a developing device 2, a photosensitive drum 3, a cleaner unit 4, a charger 5, an intermediate transfer belt unit 6, a fixing unit 7, a paper feed cassette 81, a paper discharge tray 91, and the like.
A document placing table 92 made of transparent glass is provided on the upper portion of the apparatus main body 130, and an automatic document processing device 120 that automatically conveys the document to the document placing table 92 is attached on the upper side. The automatic document processing device 120 is configured to be rotatable in the direction of arrow M, and the document can be placed manually by opening the document table 92.

The apparatus main body 130 has an image reading unit 90 accommodated in a housing. The image reading means 90 is a reduction optical system image reading means composed of a light source unit 93 that holds the light source and the first mirror, a mirror unit 94 that holds the second and third mirrors, and a lens and the CCD 95. . In addition, the apparatus main body 130 is provided with an operation panel (not shown) so that a user can input an operation. Further, the apparatus main body 130 includes means for inputting image data from an externally connected apparatus, or means for reading image data from a portable recording medium (none of which is shown).

  The image data handled in the image forming apparatus 100 corresponds to, for example, four color images of black (K), cyan (C), magenta (M), and yellow (Y). Accordingly, four each of the developing device 2, the photosensitive drum (image carrier) 3, the charger 5, and the cleaner unit 4 are provided so as to form four types of latent images corresponding to the respective colors. An image station is configured.

The charger 5 is a charging means for uniformly charging the surface of the photosensitive drum 3 to a predetermined potential. In addition to the charger type as shown in FIG. 1, a contact type roller type or brush type charger is used. Sometimes used.
The exposure unit 1 is configured as a laser scanning unit (LSU) provided with a laser emitting portion, a reflection mirror, and the like. The exposure unit 1 includes a polygon mirror that scans a laser beam and optical elements such as a lens and a mirror for guiding the laser beam reflected by the polygon mirror to the photosensitive drum 3. In addition, as the exposure unit 1, for example, a method using an EL or LED writing head in which light emitting elements are arranged in an array can be employed.

  The exposure unit 1 has a function of forming an electrostatic latent image corresponding to the image data on the surface thereof by exposing the charged photosensitive drum 3 according to the input image data. The developing unit 2 visualizes the electrostatic latent images formed on the respective photosensitive drums 3 with toners of four colors (Y, M, C, K). The cleaner unit 4 removes and collects toner remaining on the surface of the photosensitive drum 3 after development and image transfer.

The intermediate transfer belt unit 6 disposed above the photosensitive drum 3 includes an intermediate transfer belt 61, an intermediate transfer belt driving roller 62, an intermediate transfer belt driven roller 63, an intermediate transfer roller 64, and an intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 65. I have. Four intermediate transfer rollers 64 are provided corresponding to each color of Y, M, C, and K.
The intermediate transfer belt driving roller 62, the intermediate transfer belt driven roller 63, and the intermediate transfer roller 64 are driven to rotate while the intermediate transfer belt 61 is stretched. Each intermediate transfer roller 64 provides a transfer bias for transferring the toner image on the photosensitive drum 3 onto the intermediate transfer belt 61.

  The intermediate transfer belt 61 is provided in contact with each photosensitive drum 3. Then, the color toner images (multicolor toner images) are formed on the intermediate transfer belt 61 by sequentially superimposing and transferring the respective color toner images formed on the photosensitive drum 3 onto the intermediate transfer belt 61. The intermediate transfer belt 61 is formed in an endless shape using, for example, a film having a thickness of about 100 μm to 150 μm.

  Transfer of the toner image from the photosensitive drum 3 to the intermediate transfer belt 61 is performed by an intermediate transfer roller 64 that is in contact with the back side of the intermediate transfer belt 61. A high-voltage transfer bias (a high voltage having a polarity (+) opposite to the toner charging polarity (−)) is applied to the intermediate transfer roller 64 in order to transfer the toner image. The intermediate transfer roller 64 is a roller whose base is a metal (for example, stainless steel) shaft having a diameter of 8 to 10 mm and whose surface is covered with a conductive elastic material (for example, EPDM, urethane foam, or the like). With this conductive elastic material, a high voltage can be uniformly applied to the intermediate transfer belt 61. In this configuration example, a roller shape is used as the transfer electrode, but a brush or the like can also be used.

  As described above, the electrostatic images visualized according to the respective hues on the respective photosensitive drums 3 are stacked on the intermediate transfer belt 61. The stacked electrostatic images are transferred onto the recording sheet by the rotation of the intermediate transfer belt 61 by a transfer roller 10 which is a secondary transfer mechanism unit disposed at a contact position between the sheet and the intermediate transfer belt 61 described later. The The secondary transfer mechanism is not limited to a transfer roller, and a corona charger or a transfer belt can also be used.

  At this time, the intermediate transfer belt 61 and the transfer roller 10 are pressed against each other at a predetermined nip, and a voltage for transferring the toner onto the paper is applied to the transfer roller 10 (the polarity opposite to the toner charging polarity (−)). (+) High voltage). Further, in order to obtain the nip constantly, the transfer roller 10 uses either the transfer roller 10 or the intermediate transfer belt drive roller 62 as a hard material (metal or the like) and the other as a soft material (elasticity such as an elastic roller). Rubber roller, foaming resin roller, etc.).

  Further, as described above, the toner adhered to the intermediate transfer belt 61 by contacting the photosensitive drum 3 or the toner remaining on the intermediate transfer belt 61 without being transferred to the recording paper by the transfer roller 10 is used in the next step. Therefore, the intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 65 is configured to remove and collect the toner. The intermediate transfer belt cleaning unit 65 includes a cleaning blade as a cleaning member that comes into contact with the intermediate transfer belt 61. The intermediate transfer belt 61 that comes into contact with the cleaning blade is supported by an intermediate transfer belt driven roller 63 from the back side. ing.

  The paper feed cassette 81 is a tray for storing recording paper (sheets) used for image formation, and is provided below the exposure unit 1 of the apparatus main body 130. In addition, recording paper used for image formation can also be placed in the manual paper feed cassette 82. A paper discharge tray 91 provided above the apparatus main body 110 is a tray for collecting printed recording sheets face down.

  In addition, the apparatus main body 110 includes a substantially vertical sheet conveyance path S1 for feeding the recording sheets of the sheet feeding cassette 81 and the manual sheet feeding cassette 82 to the sheet discharge tray 91 via the transfer roller 10 and the fixing unit 7. Is provided. In the vicinity of the paper transport path S1 from the paper feed cassette 81 or the manual paper feed cassette 82 to the paper discharge tray 91, pickup rollers 11a and 11b, a plurality of transport rollers 12a to 12d, a registration roller 13, a transfer roller 10, and a fixing unit. 7 etc. are arranged.

  The transport rollers 12a to 12d are small rollers for promoting and assisting the transport of the recording paper, and a plurality of the transport rollers 12a to 12d are provided along the paper transport path S1. The pickup roller 11a is provided near the end of the paper feed cassette 81, picks up recording paper one by one from the paper feed cassette 81, and supplies it to the paper transport path S1. Similarly, the pickup roller 11b is provided near the end of the manual paper feed cassette 82, picks up recording paper from the manual paper feed cassette 82 one by one, and supplies it to the paper transport path S1.

  The registration roller 13 temporarily holds the recording paper that is being transported through the paper transport path S1. The recording paper is transported to the transfer roller 10 at the timing when the leading edge of the toner image on the photosensitive drum 3 is aligned with the leading edge of the recording paper.

  The fixing unit 7 includes a heat roller 71 and a pressure roller 72. The heat roller 71 and the pressure roller 72 are configured to rotate with the recording paper interposed therebetween. The heat roller 71 is set so as to reach a predetermined fixing temperature by a control means based on a signal from a temperature detector (not shown). It has the function of fusing, mixing, and pressing the multicolor toner image transferred to the paper, and thermally fixing the recording paper. An external heating belt 73 for heating the heat roller 71 from the outside is provided.

  Next, the recording paper conveyance path will be described more specifically. As described above, the image forming apparatus 100 is provided with the paper feed cassette 81 and the manual paper feed cassette 82 that store recording paper in advance. In order to feed the recording paper from these paper feed cassettes 81 and 82, pickup rollers 11a and 11b are respectively arranged so as to guide the recording paper one by one to the paper transport path S1.

  The recording paper conveyed from each of the paper feed cassettes 81 and 82 is conveyed to the registration roller 13 by the conveyance roller 12a in the paper conveyance path S1, and the timing at which the leading edge of the recording paper and the leading edge of the image information on the intermediate transfer belt 61 are aligned. The image information is written on the recording paper. Thereafter, the recording paper passes through the fixing unit 7, whereby the unfixed toner on the recording paper is melted and fixed by heat, and is then discharged onto the paper discharge tray 91 through the conveying roller 12 b disposed thereafter.

  The above-mentioned transport path is for a single-sided printing request for recording paper. On the other hand, for a double-sided printing request, the single-sided printing is finished and the recording paper after passing through the fixing unit 7 as described above. When the end is gripped by the final transport roller 12b, the transport roller 12b rotates in reverse to guide the recording paper to the transport path S2 in which the transport rollers 12c and 12d are arranged. Then, the conveyance path S2 joins the conveyance path S1, and the recording paper is conveyed from the registration roller 13 to the transfer roller 10. At this time, since the front and back sides of the recording paper are reversed at the stage of joining from the conveyance path S2 to S1, the transfer roller 10 performs printing on the back side of the recording paper. Then, the recording paper printed on the back surface is fixed by the fixing unit 7 and discharged to the paper discharge tray 91.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an exemplary configuration of main parts of the image forming apparatus and the information processing apparatus in the image forming system according to the present invention.
The image forming apparatus 100 is configured as, for example, the above-described multifunction peripheral, and controls the functions of the image forming apparatus 100 and is realized by a microcomputer having a CPU, ROM, RAM, and the like, and an operation unit 102a. And an operation panel 102 including a display unit 102 b, an image forming unit 103 that forms an image of image data on recording paper according to the control of the control unit 101, and a communication unit 104 for connecting to the information processing apparatus 200 via the network N. A storage unit 105 such as a hard disk, a reading unit 106 that reads ID information from an IC chip attached to the toner cartridge 108, a sensor circuit 107 that includes various sensors and peripheral circuits that process signals from the sensors, and replacement parts A specific example of toner cartridge 108 and specific image information on recording paper. Configured with a processing image processing unit 109 that performs for.

  The operation panel 102 includes an operation unit 102a and a display unit 102b. The operation unit 102a receives an operation input by a user and outputs the operation input to the control unit 101. The display unit 102b displays an operation screen and various information. The operation unit 102a and the display unit 102b constitute a touch panel that can perform an input operation on the operation screen.

  The main object of the present invention is to divulge confidential matters by prohibiting the addition of specific image information to the recording paper on the print condition input screen of the printer driver of the information processing apparatus when a non-genuine product is used as a replacement part. Is to prevent. As a configuration for this, the image forming apparatus 100 forms an image according to the non-genuine product determination unit 101a that determines whether or not the replacement part of the image forming unit 103 is a non-genuine product, and the image formation conditions set by the printer driver 203a. And a control unit 101 that controls the unit 103.

  When the non-genuine product determination unit 101a determines that the replacement part of the image forming unit 103 is a non-genuine product, the control unit 101 stores the determination result in the storage unit 105 as genuine part determination information. Furthermore, when there is a transmission request for genuine part determination information from the information processing apparatus 200, the control unit 101 transmits the genuine part determination information stored in the storage unit 105 to the information processing apparatus 200 via the communication unit 104. . The non-genuine product determination unit 101 a can be realized as a function of the control unit 101.

  In the above, the replacement part is a part that constitutes a part of the apparatus from the viewpoint of function and whose performance can be recovered and maintained by replacement. For example, in the case of the image forming apparatus 100, the toner cartridge (or developing cartridge), the photosensitive member cartridge, the cartridge in which the developing member and the photosensitive member are integrally formed, the ink cartridge, the ink tank, and the print head are integrally formed. A cartridge, a thermal transfer type ink sheet cartridge, and the like correspond to this. These replacement parts may be called supplies. In the description of this embodiment, the toner cartridge 108 is described as an example of a replacement part, but the present invention is not limited to this.

  In FIG. 2, the non-genuine product determination unit 101 a determines whether the toner cartridge 108 attached to the image forming apparatus 100 is a genuine product or a non-genuine product. The non-genuine product determination method is realized using the techniques described in Patent Documents 1 and 2 described above, and conventionally known techniques such as JP-A-2002-202697 and JP-A-2009-145396. The method is not particularly limited. Hereinafter, as an example of a non-genuine product determination method performed by the non-genuine product determination unit 101a, a case where determination is performed in the image forming apparatus 100 will be described as an example. Also good.

  The toner cartridge 108 records unique ID information that can individually identify the toner cartridge 108. For example, as shown in FIG. 3, it is mounted as an IC chip 108a, and ID information is recorded in advance in a nonvolatile memory such as an EEPROM or a ferroelectric memory. Alternatively, this ID information may be configured by a simple method such as a barcode. The ID information may be the manufacturer's identification number or the like because it is sufficient to know that the manufacturer is at least a genuine manufacturer. The configuration of the reading unit 106 differs depending on the form of ID information given to the toner cartridge 108. For example, when the ID information is a bar code, the reading unit 106 is a bar code reader, and when the ID information is an IC chip, the reading unit 106 is configured by an electric or high frequency reading unit.

  The storage unit 105 stores ID information of genuine products of the toner cartridge in advance. When the replacement of the toner cartridge 108 is confirmed, the non-genuine product determination unit 101a is read by the reading unit 106. The ID information of the toner cartridge 108 and the genuine product ID information stored in the storage unit 105 are compared to determine whether or not they match. Note that the manufacturer of the image forming apparatus 100 may store all ID information of genuine toner cartridges in the storage unit 105 at the manufacturing stage. When the ID information matches, it is determined as a genuine product, and when the ID information does not match, it is determined as a non-genuine product. It should be noted that some non-genuine products may not be provided with ID information. Therefore, when the reading unit 106 cannot read the ID information, the product is determined to be a non-genuine product.

  In the above, replacement mounting of the toner cartridge 108 can be detected by the sensor circuit 107. As described above, the sensor circuit 107 includes various sensors and peripheral circuits that process signals from the sensors. The sensor includes a mechanical or optical door sensor and a cartridge sensor. The door sensor is a sensor that detects whether the door of the image forming apparatus 100 is open or closed, and the cartridge sensor is a sensor that detects whether or not the toner cartridge 108 is attached to the image forming apparatus 100. Peripheral circuits include a waveform shaping circuit for shaping the waveform of the sensor output, a filter circuit, a binarization circuit, a voltage level adjustment circuit, and the like. The sensor output is converted into a digital signal having a logic level of, for example, 0-5V. Convert.

  If the sensor circuit 107 detects that the toner cartridge 108 has been replaced, the control unit 101 accesses the IC chip 108a and instructs the reading unit 106 to read the ID information. Then, the non-genuine product determination unit 101a compares the ID information read by the reading unit 106 with the ID information stored in the storage unit 105, thereby determining whether the replaced toner cartridge 108 is a genuine product or not. Judge whether it is a genuine product. In this manner, the non-genuine product determination unit 101a can determine whether the ID information matches or does not match. Even when the reading unit 106 cannot read, it is determined that there is a mismatch, that is, a non-genuine product.

  The image processing unit 109 has a function of performing image change processing on image data read by a scanner (image reading unit) and print data transmitted from the outside such as the information processing apparatus 200. Examples of the image changing process include a magnification designation scaling setting, a paper designation scaling setting, a binding margin setting, an aggregation setting called n in 1, and the like. The image processing unit 109 includes a specific image information adding unit 109a and a specific image information detecting unit 109b.

  The specific image information adding unit 109a is for realizing the process of adding the specific image information related to the present invention to the recording paper. The specific image information adding unit 109a is a specific image for the image data input by various image input means. It has a function of adding specific image information which means that there is. After specific image information is added by the specific image information adding unit 109a after the above-described image change processing is performed, it is possible to add certain specific image information regardless of processing such as scaling or rotation. It is also easy to detect. The specific image information includes, for example, the above-described watermark, copy prohibition information, or tracking information, all of which relate to security.

  The image processing unit 109 includes a specific image information detection unit 109b that detects whether or not specific image information is included in the image data read by the scanner (image reading unit) and stored in the memory storage unit 105. It is preferable. As a result of the detection by the specific image information detection unit 109b, if the image data includes specific image information for copy prohibition based on the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern, the control unit 101 prohibits copying of the image data (in the image forming unit 103). (Disable image formation).

  Next, the information processing apparatus 200 is, for example, a general-purpose PC (personal computer), and controls the communication unit 201 for connecting to the image forming apparatus 100 via the network N and each function of the information processing apparatus 200. An arithmetic processing unit 202 including a CPU, RAM, ROM, and the like, a storage unit 203 such as a hard disk in which the printer driver 203a is installed, an input unit 204 such as a keyboard and a mouse, and a display unit 205 such as a liquid crystal display. It is configured with.

  The printer driver 203a is software (program) for controlling the image forming apparatus 100 to execute image forming processing (printing processing). The printer driver 203 a is read from the storage unit 203 by the arithmetic processing unit 202 and executed on the RAM of the arithmetic processing unit 202 when printing is performed. Then, the printer driver 203a displays a print condition input screen (also referred to as a print condition setting screen) on the display unit 205, thereby presenting various image forming conditions to the user and the user input unit 204. The image forming conditions are set according to the input operation from. The image forming conditions are sent together with the print data to the image forming apparatus 100 via the communication unit 201. In the image forming apparatus 100, the print data is processed by the image processing unit 109 according to the image forming conditions, and the processed print data is processed. The image forming unit 103 prints on the recording paper.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the operation of the image forming apparatus in the image forming system of the present invention. In this example, a case where an ID information read command is generated when the sensor circuit 107 detects the mounting of the toner cartridge 108 based on the configuration of the image forming apparatus 100 in FIG. 2 will be described.

  First, the control unit 101 determines whether or not an ID information read command from the sensor circuit 107 is generated with the mounting of the toner cartridge 108 (step S11), and determines that an ID information read command is generated (step S11). If YES, the reading unit 106 is instructed to read the ID information of the toner cartridge 108 (step S12). If it is determined in step S11 that no ID information read command has been issued (NO), the process shifts to a standby state in step S11.

  Next, the control unit 101 (non-genuine product determination unit 101a) compares the ID information read by the reading unit 106 with the ID information (registered ID information) stored in the storage unit 105 (step S13). . Then, it is determined whether or not they match (step S14). If they match (YES), the toner cartridge 108 is determined to be a genuine product, and the storage unit 105 indicates that it is a genuine component as genuine component determination information. (Step S15). If they do not match, the toner cartridge 108 is determined to be a non-genuine product, and is stored in the storage unit 105 as genuine component determination information in the storage unit 105 (step S16). Here, step S14 corresponds to the non-genuine product determination step of the present invention.

  In step S15 and step S16, after the genuine part determination information is stored in the storage unit 105, the process proceeds to step S17 and waits for an inquiry about the genuine part determination information from the information processing apparatus 200. If there is an inquiry about genuine part determination information from the information processing apparatus 200 in step S17, the genuine part determination information is read from the storage unit 105 and transmitted to the information processing apparatus 200 (step S18). If there is no inquiry, the process proceeds to a standby state in step S17. If the ID read command described in step S11 occurs during the standby state, the process proceeds to step S11 and the subsequent processing is repeated. Here, step S18 corresponds to the communication step of the present invention.

  In the operation flow shown in FIG. 4, after genuine part determination information is stored in the storage unit 105, an inquiry about genuine part determination information from the information processing apparatus 200 is awaited. When the information processing apparatus 200 connected to the processing apparatus 100 can be recognized, the genuine part determination information may be transmitted to the information processing apparatus 200 every time the genuine part determination information is updated.

Next, the operation of the information processing apparatus 200 will be described. FIG. 5 is a flowchart for explaining an example of the operation of the information processing apparatus in the image forming system of the present invention.
First, the arithmetic processing unit 202 determines whether or not the printer driver has been activated by a user operation (step S21). When the printer driver is activated (in the case of YES), the arithmetic processing unit 202 determines whether or not the image forming apparatus 100 is activated. Then, transmission of genuine part determination information is requested (step S22). If it is determined in step S21 that the printer driver is not activated (NO), the process proceeds to a standby state in step S21.

  After step S22, genuine part determination information is acquired from the image forming apparatus 100 (step S23), and the process proceeds to step S24. In step S24, it is determined whether or not a non-genuine part is used in the image processing apparatus 100 based on the genuine part determination information. If it is determined that the non-genuine part is not used, that is, the genuine part is used, the process proceeds to step S25, and the normal image forming condition with no restriction on the condition is performed according to a predetermined operation by the user. A print condition input screen is displayed on the display unit 205. If it is determined in step S24 that non-genuine parts are used, the process proceeds to step S26, and a print condition input screen for image forming conditions for which the addition of specific image information to the recording paper is prohibited is displayed on the display unit 205. indicate. Here, step S26 corresponds to the input restriction step of the present invention.

  In step S26, the specific image information relates to security, and more specifically, any one of watermark, copy prohibition information, and printed matter tracking information. On the print condition input screen for normal image forming conditions with no condition restrictions, setting items for selecting specific image information and adding it to the recording paper are displayed on the display unit 205 and can be set. However, on the printing condition input screen that prohibits the addition of specific image information, the setting items for adding the specific image information are hidden or grayed out so that the specific image information cannot be selected or set. I have to.

Hereinafter, an example of a printing condition input screen of the printer driver 203a of the information processing apparatus 200 in the printing process of the image forming apparatus 100 will be described with reference to FIGS.
FIG. 6 is a print condition input screen 300 of a printer driver for setting various image conditions displayed on the display unit 205 of the information processing apparatus 200 when performing conventional copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing. If a check mark is added by clicking the box 302 on the left side of the background pattern printing display 301, the background pattern printing setting display 303, which is the detailed setting for the background pattern printing, can be selected.

  The copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing mode is a function that prints watermarks and hidden characters on the background of an image. When the print result is imported to the image forming apparatus as a copy or scan data again, it is clearly indicated that the image is a copy data. The purpose is to prohibit copying. In the case of the present invention, when the printer driver is activated and non-genuine parts are not used in the image forming apparatus 100, a printing condition input screen 300 that allows selection and setting of tint block printing is displayed on the display unit 205. Is done. The document control display 304 is used to embed data for preventing unauthorized copying when outputting a document such as a confidential document, and is used to perform setting for adding copy prohibition information in the same manner as the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing. belongs to. Then, by selecting the display 304, details of data for preventing unauthorized copying can be set.

  On the other hand, FIG. 7 is a diagram showing an example of a print condition input screen by the printer driver when a non-genuine product is used in the image forming apparatus. The print condition input screen 310 shown in FIG. 7 relates to the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern print 301, the box-print 302, the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern print setting display 303, and the document control 304 displayed on the normal print-condition input screen 300. The setting items are not displayed, and it is impossible to select and set the copy-forgery-inhibited pattern printing. Furthermore, by displaying a message 311 that “Non-genuine toner is installed,“ background pattern printing ”and“ document control ”cannot be set”, a message 311 is displayed to inform the user why the background pattern printing cannot be selected. The user's recognition of non-genuine parts may be improved.

FIG. 8 is a diagram illustrating another example of the print condition input screen by the printer driver when a non-genuine product is used in the image forming apparatus, and illustrates an example of prohibiting watermark setting. .
When the user selects the watermark tab 321 as the print condition input screen, a print condition input screen 320 shown in FIG. 8 is displayed. In the printing condition input screen 320, the watermark setting item 322 that can be input on the normal printing condition input screen when genuine parts are used is grayed out, and the watermark recording is performed. Cannot be added to paper. Simultaneously with the selection of the watermark tab 321, a message 323 “Please use genuine supplies to use the watermark” may be displayed on the display unit 205.

  In the above embodiment, when non-genuine parts are used, selection and input are prohibited by hiding or graying out the setting items related to the addition of specific image information on the printing condition input screen. However, when the setting item is displayed and the user tries to select or input this display item, a message is displayed requesting the use of genuine supplies, and the display item can be selected or input. You may not be able to do that.

  As described above, non-genuine products are used for printing important documents and submitted documents, etc., and additional information indicating the importance of the printed matter as described above may not be transferred to the recording paper. According to the present invention, for non-genuine products that cannot be guaranteed by the manufacturer of the multifunction device, it is possible to suppress printing defects of documents due to special printing by prohibiting functions such as watermarks and tint block printing.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Exposure unit, 2 ... Developing device, 3 ... Photoconductor drum, 4 ... Cleaner unit, 5 ... Charger, 6 ... Intermediate transfer belt unit, 7 ... Fixing unit, 10 ... Transfer roller, 11a, 11b ... Pickup roller, 12a, 12b, 12c, 12d ... conveying roller, 13 ... registration roller, 61 ... intermediate transfer belt, 62 ... intermediate transfer belt driving roller, 63 ... intermediate transfer belt driven roller, 64 ... intermediate transfer roller, 65 ... intermediate transfer belt cleaning Unit: 71 ... Heat roller, 72 ... Pressure roller, 73 ... External heating belt, 81 ... Paper feed cassette, 82 ... Manual paper feed cassette, 90 ... Image reading means, 91 ... Paper discharge tray, 92 ... Document placement table, 93 ... Light source unit, 94 ... Mirror unit, 95 ... CCD, 100 ... Image forming apparatus, 101 ... Control unit, 101a ... Non Authentic product determination unit, 102 ... operation panel, 102a ... operation unit, 102b, 205 ... display unit, 103 ... image forming unit, 104, 201 ... communication unit, 105, 203 ... storage unit, 106 ... reading unit, 107 ... sensor circuit DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 108 ... Toner cartridge 108a ... IC chip 109 ... Image processing unit 120 ... Automatic document processing device 130 ... Main unit 200 ... Information processing device 202 ... Arithmetic processing unit 203a ... Printer driver 204 ... Input unit , 300, 310, 320... Print condition input screen.

Claims (7)

An image forming system in which an information processing apparatus in which a printer driver is installed and an image forming apparatus controlled by the printer driver are connected via a network,
The image forming apparatus includes: an image forming unit that forms an image; a non-genuine product determination unit that determines whether or not a replacement part of the image forming unit is a non-genuine product; A communication unit for transmitting to the processing device,
When the determination result from the image forming apparatus is a non-genuine product, the printer driver of the information processing apparatus records recording paper for specific image information among the image forming conditions that can be input from the print condition input screen of the printer driver. An image forming system that prohibits addition to the image forming apparatus.   The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the specific image information is any one of a watermark, copy prohibition information, and printed matter tracking information.   When the determination result from the image forming apparatus is a non-genuine product, the printer driver of the information processing apparatus hides the setting items related to the addition of the specific image information to the recording paper on the printing condition input screen. The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein the image forming system is an image forming system.   When the determination result from the image forming apparatus is a non-genuine product, the printer driver of the information processing apparatus displays in gray the setting items relating to the addition of the specific image information to the recording paper on the printing condition input screen The image forming system according to claim 1, wherein:   The non-genuine product determination unit determines that the replacement component is a non-genuine component when predetermined information cannot be acquired from the replacement component of the image forming unit. The image forming system described in 1.   A printer driver installed in the information processing apparatus in the image forming system according to claim 1. An image forming method in an image forming system in which an information processing apparatus in which a printer driver is installed and an image forming apparatus controlled by the printer driver are connected via a network,
The image forming apparatus includes: an image forming unit that forms an image; a non-genuine product determination step that determines whether a replacement part of the image forming unit is a non-genuine product; A communication step of transmitting to the processing device;
When the determination result from the image forming apparatus is a non-genuine product, the printer driver of the information processing apparatus records recording paper for specific image information among the image forming conditions that can be input from the print condition input screen of the printer driver. An image forming method comprising an input restriction step for prohibiting addition to the image.

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